First and foremost I am not…

First and foremost I am not a lease holder at Rondeau Provincial Park however, the debate now raging over the proposed conditions put forward by the Ontario Provincial Government for lease extension has sparked my curiosity. First and foremost I believe a long term lease extension would be in the best interest of South Kent and its communities and well as the Ontario Provincial Government. The cottagers of Rondeau Provincial Park help to subsidize Provincial Parks of Ontario through service and lease fees and the purchase of gate passes. The Cottagers of Rondeau Provincial Park shop in Blenheim and Ridgetown and they hire tradespersons from these communities to work on their cottagers. Any attempt to diminish the number of cottagers in Rondeau Provincial Park will have a negative impact against the communities of South Kent as well as the Ontario Parks program.

The new lease agreement and its conditions are unsettling. These conditions limit the cottager’s ability to transfer ownership onto children or other members of family, they spousal transfer rights for marriages after September 2010, results in the destruction of cottages upon death of the lease holder and finally it places demolition costs on surviving family members. These conditions could in no way in good faith be described as a lease extension but instead should be described and as a Cottage phase-out policy. It would be in the best interests of the local communities and the Provincial Government for these conditions to be changed.

From talking to local families who lease cottages in Rondeau Provincial Park I find it disconcerting that the Ontario Government would be so callous, we must remember that Rondeau Provincial Park was established in 1894 and that in the original Rondeau Park Act specified it would provide “cottaging oppurtunities.” By limiting these opportunities the Ontario Government is turning its back on over 100 years of community and fellowship. Rondeau Cottages are modest they exist within the bounds of nature and not beyond. Closing the Rondeau Cottage community will have a greater environmental impact then allowing them to stay. It is my hope to continue to see the Cottagers of Rondeau Provincial Park provide economic opportunities to South Kent as well as for them and their families to continue to enjoy nature and its beauty through modest means.

[Original Comment ID: 129070]